Glenn Danzig - Black Aria (Evilive)

Introspection is a funny thing. Things you gave merit and meaning to fall short in time, replacing accolades with disappointment and disillusionment. Such is the case with former Misfits and Samhain frontman Glenn Danzig’s first solo outing Black Aria. His intent is simple: powerful symphonic passages written to sweep you away to a darker time and place. Unfortunate that the elder statesman of ghouldom missed the mark of his original premise. Don’t misconstrue: this is a great first effort, and it retains at least some semblance of it’s intended darkness. The problem he encounters here is blatant overuse of synthetic symphonic elements as an alternative to real instrumentation. C’mon Glenn!!! You’re telling me, with all those Misfits royalties coming in, you can’t afford the New York Philharmonic for at least one recording session? Oh well, it’s just the opinion of one man, I suppose. To each their own. The album highlights feature the use of lush operatic female vocals and a sinister demonic undertone – one which is pretty much omnipresent at every stage in his illustrious career. Black Aria is a worthwhile listen if you aren’t expecting Stravinsky.


- C. Kolakowski